Films & Schedules
- Belgium

Sat, Feb 7, 2009at 5:15 PM (B4)

Sun, Feb 8, 2009at 8 PM (B2)

Tue, Feb 10, 2009at 6:45 PM (B2)

Eldorado

DIRECTOR: Bouli Lanners - Belgium

A droll and idiosyncratic addition to the Belgian noir tradition, Eldorado stars director Lanners as Yvan, a world-wise, quick-tempered vintage car dealer. When he surprises the young and inept Elie trying to burglarize him, he doesn't call the police. Instead, he winds up developing a strange affection for the guy and agrees to drive him home so that he can visit his parents. It's the start of an absurdist, odd-couple road trip in a '79 Chevy though a magnificent, but nonetheless whacked-out, country. Stylishly directed and driven by a savvy soundtrack, Eldorado is "a small but damn-near perfectly formed serio-comedy...never...

A droll and idiosyncratic addition to the Belgian noir tradition, Eldorado stars director Lanners as Yvan, a world-wise, quick-tempered vintage car dealer. When he surprises the young and inept Elie trying to burglarize him, he doesn't call the police. Instead, he winds up developing a strange affection for the guy and agrees to drive him home so that he can visit his parents. It's the start of an absurdist, odd-couple road trip in a '79 Chevy though a magnificent, but nonetheless whacked-out, country. Stylishly directed and driven by a savvy soundtrack, Eldorado is "a small but damn-near perfectly formed serio-comedy...never puts a wrong foot forward in the direction of sentimentality or cliché." --Variety. Winner of Best European Film at the Cannes Director's Fortnight and this year's Belgian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Lorna's Silence

DIRECTOR: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne - Belgium

Winner of the Best Screenplay Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Lorna's Silence continues the Dardenne brothers' examination of the dark side of European immigrant life. Desperate to stay in the Belgian city of Lièg and make a better life, Lorna, a young Albanian woman, is seduced into a dark immigration scheme by Fabio, an unscrupulous gangster. She is to marry Claudy, a weak-willed junky, in order to earn her Belgian citizenship. That done, the plan is to leave him, without arousing the suspicion of the authorities, so that she chan marry a Russian Mafioso who will pay handsomely to...

Winner of the Best Screenplay Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Lorna's Silence continues the Dardenne brothers' examination of the dark side of European immigrant life. Desperate to stay in the Belgian city of Lièg and make a better life, Lorna, a young Albanian woman, is seduced into a dark immigration scheme by Fabio, an unscrupulous gangster. She is to marry Claudy, a weak-willed junky, in order to earn her Belgian citizenship. That done, the plan is to leave him, without arousing the suspicion of the authorities, so that she chan marry a Russian Mafioso who will pay handsomely to gain legal status. Fabio's plan is to simply kill Claudy, but, struck by conscience, Lorna tries to save him by conjuring grounds for divorce. Surprised by her ethical awakening, Lorna must test the limits of her own cruelty.

Moscow, Belgium

DIRECTOR: Christophe Van Rompaey - Belgium

Moscow, Belgium is a charming romantic comedy about two misfits faced with each other's messed-up lives and irresistibly drawn together. In the small, middle-class section of Ghent known as Moscow, Matty struggles with three kids and ex-husband Werner, who dumped her for a young art school student. One day she meets Johnny, by ramming into his truck in a parking lot. After their initial fight, he takes a liking to her. She spurns his dogged advances--he's much younger and working class--but little by little, she ceases to yearn for Werner and gives in to Johnny's charms. Naturally, that's precisely when...

Moscow, Belgium is a charming romantic comedy about two misfits faced with each other's messed-up lives and irresistibly drawn together. In the small, middle-class section of Ghent known as Moscow, Matty struggles with three kids and ex-husband Werner, who dumped her for a young art school student. One day she meets Johnny, by ramming into his truck in a parking lot. After their initial fight, he takes a liking to her. She spurns his dogged advances--he's much younger and working class--but little by little, she ceases to yearn for Werner and gives in to Johnny's charms. Naturally, that's precisely when Werner decides that his new girlfriend is not for him and, maybe, that he wants Matty back. What's a girl to do? Winner of the screenwriting prize at the Cannes Critics' Week.